Customer Service - The way it should be

Some of you know about the issue I had with an Auralic device, but for those that don't, here is a brief overview:

I ordered a brand new unit from Underwood Hifi on June 27th and because their warehouse is in my backyard, I picked the unit up. I set it up and was running it flawlessly for about 9 days.

All of a sudden, the display screen had horizontal lines running through it.

All other features worked fine, it's just the screen was messed up. SO I posted on the Auralic forum about it and the CEO posted this response:

The display module is not installed properly and mostly the FPC cable on the back or was damaged during transportation. What we usually do is to replace the entire display module in case there is any potential problem. Please contact your local distributor and have this problem fixed.

So my first thought was "fixed" ? I had just spent close to $4k on this and after 9 days it failed and they say "fixed"? ugh. To be perfectly honest, because the screen is (as clipdat said) probably the least expensive thing in there, and had the least to do with why I purchased this unit, if they fixed it - it would be ok. But a new unit was definitely preferable.

So I did as they said, and contacted Walter from Underwood. When I sent him pictures of the issue, his first reaction (within one hour of sending it) was "I'm on it". He sent the issue direct to Auralic to process the RMA. Not only did Walter do the things you would expect (contact the manufacturer on my behalf, process the RMA) but he also sent me a prepaid UPS shipping label. I know most of might think yeah, sure he did. But it's common for RMA's to be processed with the shipping liability laid at the customer's feet. Additionally, he said that as soon as I dropped off the unit and got confirmation of shipping the old unit back, he would process a brand new unit for me.

I just got the brand new unit back today - it came ground from OR so it was only delayed by distance.

Up and running, I am thrilled to say that Walter (not that he didn't before) has a customer for life!

That's great and I concur whole heartedly about Walter. His approach and execution of the business is second to none. Following the "Pigs get fat, while hogs get slaughtered" rule while maintaining amazing customer service and communication which is IMHO again, second to None. I too am on board with Underwood and would highly recommended Walt to my closest friends. Congrats Joe on a smooth replacement process and I know you'll have that baby buzzing soon. 😉

"if it's not fun, it's not worth it & remember folks, "It's All About The Music"!!
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How one handles this type of issue is what sets the great places (people) apart and really shows you why someone (someplace) is successful. Sometimes the lowest price isn't always the best deal. This shows you why.

Glad it worked out for you.

H9

"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass

Thanks for sharing your customer service experience with Underwood HiFi, Joe. I think we all know that Walter has great prices, but it's also nice to know that he has great service as well.

Normally you probably would've had to wait for Auralic to repair your other unit under warranty, and then that same unit would be shipped back to you. By having a new one shipped out, he really minimized a lot of your downtime. Very nice.

Love to hear customer service stories like this. It's good to see that this class of quality still exists.

It's a shame that current younger generations and those following will most likely never know what it was like to have interaction with people and businesses that truly cared about their reputation and customers. It's all science now, companies making moves for fractions of profit and efficiency gains. There comes a point where there's nothing left to squeeze, so it moves to sacrifices in product quality, quantity, and/or employee treatment/benefits.

Can't really blame a CS rep for emptily responding to an issue with a line reading, "I'm sorry to hear about your difficulty with [widget], yawn...", and actually yawning.